Peru: “We need to focus more on social development and less in military force” says Minister Otarola

The Peruvian government plans to focus more on development than the use of military force to curb drug trafficking in the region,  said the new defense minister, Alberto Otarola.

According to Reuters, Otarola said that Peru needs to invest in infrastructure and social programs in the region of the Valley of the Apurimac and Ene Rivers . At least ten soldiers and policemen were killed in the forest region in the last two years in confrontation with drug traffickers and members of the Shining Path terrorist group.

Brazil and Ukraine discusses bilateral partnerships

The foreign ministers of Brazil, Antonio Patriota, and Ukraine, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, will analyse alliance cooperation on issues such as aerospace, defense, energy and health.

Gryshchenko makes a visit to Brazil, less than three months after the trip to this South American nation of the Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, which demonstrates the strengthening of strategic links between the two countries, says a press release from Brazilian Foreign Ministry.

Brazil: Three questions to the Minister of Finances, Guido Mantega (made by Época maganize)

Three questions to

the Minister of Finances, Guido Mantega (made by Época maganize)

What is your evaluation of the government’s first year?

We made it through the international economic crisis with relative ease and we met out economic and social targets. We implemented a new model of development, with focus on job generation. Even with a smaller economic growth than in 2010, we created more than 2 million formal jobs. In a moment where the world is full of unemployment, with more than 100 million unemployed people, this is a great accomplishment. Of course, the crisis is not over and is slowing us down.

Don’t you think that the number of ministries and trusted positions is outrageous?

There are ministries who attend to important social issues; for example the Ministry of Racial Equality who focus mainly on reducing prejudice and inequality and the Special Secretariat for Women Policies, which deals with the feminine condition. Both are small ministries.

Do you fell that President Dilma wants to reduce the number of ministries?

President Dilma will maintain the number of ministries.

Brazil: Rejection of the public health situation does not contaminate the popularity of Dilma

Last week, Ibope released a poll, commissioned by the National Industry Confederation (CNI) on the public health situation. The result was highly negative for the government.

According to the survey, 61% of the population considers the public health service to be “very bad” or “bad”; 54% assess the health in their city as “bad” or “very bad”, and 85% said they had not seen improvements in the public health over the last three years.

The main barriers attributed to the public health system were the delay / difficulty to be serviced (55%), lack of equipment / facilities / investments (10%) and lack of doctors (9%).

In addition to the understanding that there is an absence of effective management in public health, corruption is an issue of concern. For 82% of respondents, the government should fight corruption to get more resources to invest in health. For 53%, the waste should be reduced.

The negative public opinion in relation to public health is not new. In recent years, this is an area that has many problems and is evaluated negatively by respondents.

However, it is important to note that such problems did not contaminate the administration of former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Lula and neither did it stop their reelections. The same goes for President Dilma Rousseff. Despite the negative assessment on health, the president has high approval, according to the latest poll.

Even if the issue of health is important and deserves attention from the Planalto Palace, alone it does not tend to produce shocks in the image of the president and government.

Brazil: Aécio Neves’ leadership questioned once again by the opposition

Once again sectors of the opposition demonstrated ignorance of the political situation today. According to journalist Josias de Souza, of Folha, opposition leaders criticized the performance of Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) in the Senate.

According to Josias, opinions were heard from five leaders of the opposition (PSDB, DEM and PPS). In their view, Aécio had a lackluster performance in his first year as a senator. The senator’s conciliatory style has also been criticized, as well as the alleged “few trips and speeches”.

The response from Aécio Neves in the form of criticism of his opponents did not take long. He sent a letter to the journalist stating he does not confuse opponents with enemies.

Aécio also defended his performance as senator. He recalled his work on the new proposal for the rite of Provisional Measures (MPs), adopted unanimously, and the debate around the proposed national distribution of iron ore and oil royalties.

More than not understanding the current political scenario, the internal opponents of Aécio Neves demonstrate unfamiliarity with the political style of the strongest opposition name for 2014. Just as in his tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives, through the government of Minas Gerais and now as senator, Aécio has a conciliatory leadership style quite different from the former governor José Serra, for example. This may help explain the “void” that the opposition feels.

Even if in the next two years, with the closeness of the presidential election, Aécio Neves appears more in the spotlight, harsh criticism of the government should not be part of his strategy. An example is the dialogue that the senator has with the PSB, party of the allied base in Congress. Another important fact to mention is the support of the PSDB for re-election of Mayor Márcio Lacerda (PSB) in Belo Horizonte, situation created by Aécio.

With the opposition still without an alternative discourse and before a government that is very well evaluated, the posture of Aécio Neves in his first year as a senator is not a “disaster”, as some opposition leaders believe. Today, more than worrying about adopting a proactive attitude and criticizing the government, the challenges of Aécio are concentrated, first, within the PSDB, and then with the strategies and alliances needed to attract parties for the design of power he intends to lead in 2014.

Brazil – Dilma and the social movements

The press has run in recent days a series of news stories about the dissatisfaction of social movements with the beginning of the administration of Dilma Rousseff.

The Carta Maior magazine published a balance sheet based on testimony from representatives of three entities – the Central Union of Workers (CUT), the National Students Union (UNE) and the Movement of Landless Workers (MST). For them, the government remained distant from the movements in her first year in office and its posture was often contradictory. According to the entities, if there is no pressure in 2012, many commitments will not leave the drawing board.

The Correio Braziliense newspaper (from 01.13) reported that employees of the Three Branches plan a general strike in April, if the government maintains its unwillingness to increase their salaries in 2012. It was also reported that 17 entities plan to submit in the next 24 days, a list of seven demands, including wage increases.

In 2011, the servers claimed a wage increase equivalent to R$ 40 billion, but the government provided only R$ 1.6 billion.

“The outlook is not good and the signs for Dilma are worse. We will bet on negotiations until exhaustion. If they do not move forward, we will radicalize,” said Josemilton Costa, secretary general of the Confederation of Workers in Federal Public Service (Condsef). to newspaper Valor Econômico,

There is also the expectation of the Red April, sponsored by the MST.

In 2012 it is possible that the former president Lula works to improve the dialogue with social movements.

In particular not to harm the PT in municipal elections and to prevent that the political pressure made by these movements results in the approval of adjustments with which the government disagrees.